Henrik Pedersen hails Owls captain Barry Bannan after ’emotional’ farewell

Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen paid tribute to “special” captain Barry Bannan after revealing he is set to leave the Championship strugglers.

Bannan was substituted just before stoppage time in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Bristol City, which is expected to be his last appearance for the club.

The long-serving midfielder shook hands with players from both sides as he left the field to applause from all corners of the stadium.

After the final whistle Bannan led his team-mates to acknowledge the massed ranks of travelling fans and, amid widespread transfer speculation, appeared to be bidding farewell as they chanted his name.

Pedersen said: “Barry wants to leave, although I don’t want to lose him. I can’t say where he will be going at the moment, but we will miss him because he is a real club legend and a great leader as well as a top player.

“The reaction of both sets of supporters said everything about how he is regarded and it was very emotional. He is a special player and a special human being, who gives without taking.”

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber added his own tribute to Bannan, saying: “He is a true role model and a great professional, who has graced the game for 15 years. I have huge admiration for him as a footballer and a person.”

Second-half goals from Scott Twine and Sam Bell condemned battling Wednesday to defeat and Pedersen added: “We had a very difficult start against a really well-organised and structured team. But after the opening minutes I was really impressed by the way our young players grew in to the game.

“In the second half we had six or seven really good situations going forward. Our more experienced players helped the youngsters and for 80 minutes it was a really good team performance.

“Our fans were truly amazing throughout the game, chanting Barry’s name and getting behind the team from start to finish.”

The victory strengthened City’s play-off bid, but only after Twine had eased growing frustration among Robins fans by heading home Ross McCrorie’s 64th-minute cross from the right.

Bell wrapped up the points by shooting home from the edge of the area after 78 minutes after fellow substitute Sinclair Armstrong had burst clear to create the chance.

Struber revealed he wanted to sign a striker before the end of the transfer window.

Struber, who was celebrating his 49th birthday, has so far faced frustration in efforts to add a frontman to his squad but said: “We are getting closer and I expect, rather than hope, that we will complete a signing in the coming days.

“I have talked about the need to add to our squad for a while and now is the time for action rather than words.

“I am very happy with my group of players, but if we want to improve and achieve things, we need to bring more in. By doing so we can send a clear message about our goals.

“Today we have had to be very patient in a tough game. At half-time I told the players that we needed to put more stress on their defence and our substitutes helped us do that in the second half.

“Sam Bell’s loan spell (at Wycombe) had clearly been good for him because he looked super confident and really pushed his case for selection.”